Botna_Bulletin_8_2_1995

BOTNA BULLETIN
THE NEWSLETTER OF THE BUDDIES OF THE NINTH ASSOCIATION
UOTNA
Vol. 8, No. 2 June 1995
And so another major WW2 anniversary comes and goes, this time, with no
controversy as to whether there was suitable cause for celebration! From
early this year throughout Britain there have already been numerous events
in commemoration of the end of WW2 in Europe, from street-parties to air
displays, with many more to come. Those of us who were around at the time
of the original VE Day rejoicing will remember that overwhelming feeling of
relief at having come through, often followed by the joyous realisation
that various onerous tasks to which war had committed us, were no longer
required. Some however, were feeling a pang of disappointment that .the war
in Europe had ended before they had had the chance to perform the deeds for
which they had been trained. The celebratory street parties which, on May 8
1995, were so carefully recreated throughout Britain, could never truly
recapture the atmosphere of 50 years ago, because a less-worldly, simpler,
people had attended the parties of 1945. They survived the war years eating
a totally different diet to that of toda~ nutritious but borin~ and
difficult to reproduce from today's ingredients. Believing themselves to
be on the threshold of a new beginning, they had lived through explosions
and fire, always knowing they were oh the winning side, confident they had
great cause for celebration, along with high hopes that the peace would
bring a better life, in closer cooperation, perhaps, with our frtends, the
Americans? That better life did, indeed, arrive, bringing the vast boons
which modern medicine, scientific advancement, and greater social
conscience promised. However, it wasn't all as anticipated and delivered
problems related to standards of social behaviour which, in the wat years
would not have been tolerated. Now of mature age, the participants in
those parties of 1945 might be forgiven for looking to the future and
wondering whether those living in 2045 will be likewise interested in
celebrating the centenary of an event that prefaced the enormous changes
which occurred during the years following VE Day, May 8 1 1945. · ·
REUNION NEWS
The grandly-named, Uni varsity Plaza Holiday Inn Hotel, St. Louis St,, SPRING­FIELD,
MO, is the chosen rendezous for veterans of the 404th Fighter Group
Association to meet, over September 7-10, 1995.
Members of the 557th Bomb Squadron Association Inc.,of the 387th BG, will
hold a reunion at the Menger Hotel in San Antonio, TX, during the period
October 11 thru 14, 1995.
Previously only holding individual squadron reunions, the 387th BG looks as
though it could be moving towards amalagmation at last. Members of the.
558th and 559th Bomb Squadrons are holding a joint reunion for October 13-
17 in Williamsberg, VA and are inviting members of the other squadrons to
attend. It is hoped that 1997· will see the holding of an ALL SQUADRON
reunion and the creation of the 387th Bomb Group Association will become a
reality ... 'bout time say we!!
10-13 August 1995 is the date for the 32nd reunion of the 367th Fighter
Group Association Inc. The venue will be the Radisson Hotel, Fargo, ND.
2
BOTNA BULLETIN is published four times yearly to coincide with the
association's meetings which are scheduled to be held in the Staff Social
Club at Stansted Airport, Essex. ,Membership of BOTNA is open to all those
with a genuine interest in the Ninth Air Force of WW2. American members
receive BOTNA BULLETIN by surface ~il. The annual subscription is $15,
which should be sent to the Treasurer Olive Mynn, The Dell, Kiln Hill,
IXWORTH, Suffolk, IP31 2HW. Bills are best as the cost of converting
dollar cheques is disproportionally high. The cost of U. K membership is
currently £7 <£10 for husband and wife), cheques payable to 'BOTNA'. Items
for inclusion in BOTNA BULLETIN should be sent to the Editor: Bob Mynn, The
Dell, Kiln Hill, IXWORTH, Suffolk, IP31 2HW.
The BUDDIES OE THE NINTH ASSOCIATION is a non profit-making group composed
o~.aviation enthusiasts and others with a special affinity to the U.S Ninth
Air· Force of WW2.· It is run by a volunteer Management team, the members of
which are as follows.
Roger A. Freeman. PRESIDENT.
Jack K. Havener 344th BG. HONORARY PRESIDENT, USA.
Bob Mynn. CHAIRMAN & NEWSLETTER EDITOR.
John F. HaJDlin. SECRETARY & ARCHIVIST. 5 Halifax Way, Newmarket. CB6 OOH
Olive Mynn. TREASURER & MEMBERSHIP REGISTRAR.
John Nicholls; TROOP CARRIER COORDINATOR.
Carol De Coveley. TEAM ADVOCATE.
BOOKLINE
Over a period of many years, BOTNA member, Alan Brown, has built up an
intimate knowledge of the numerous airfields within a short drive of his
home at Lyndhurst. Alan served with the RAF for eight years and four of
those were as a Parachute Jumping Instructor at RAF Beaulieu. No stranger
to publishing, Alan has recently produced an A4 sized, soft-covered boo!<,
of 30 pages, entitled simply "Twelve Airfields", which has drawings, maps,
and text covering Beaulieu-East Boldre, Beaulieu WW2, Calshot,
Christchurch, Ibsley, Hurn, Holmsley South, Stoney Cross, Bisterne,
Lymington, ·Needs Oar Point, Winkton. Readers will know that many of these
were home to Ninth AF groups. Printed professionally on heavy, gloss
paper, with nine full-colour insignia on the cover, "Twelve Airfields" is
intended as a guide to tourists1 and others wishing to understand something
of the great aerial history of the district. For more serious students1
Alan will soon publish a larger, more comprehensive version, intended as a
tribute to all the airmen who served and died opei-ating from the New Forest
area. Members interested in obtaining a copy of "Twelve Airfields" should
write to Alan Brown, Old Lodge, Chapel Lane, Goose Green, Lyndhurst, Hants,
5043 7FF, enclosing a cheque for £4.50.
3
The Conquest of the Reich, by Robin Neillands. Published by Weidenfeld and
Nicolson. ISBN 0 297 81509 1. Following his best-selling "D-Day 1944,
Voices from Normandy." Robin Neillands new book covers the story of the
Western Armies battling towards Berlin, from D-Day to VE Day. The story is
told in the words of ordinary people, and gives credit to the important
part played by Ninth AF units. There are a number of line drawings, ma~s,
and b&w photos, many of which have not previously been published. The
formula which the author uses makes for very enjoyable reading and he adds
further "behind the scenes" revelations about the military and politicai
control of the war. Priced at £20, and concerned mainly with the ground
war 1 the book is far from out of place in the aviation enthusiasts
bookcase.
UNLUCKY CAROLINE
Resulting from an enquiry from BOTNA member Col. Hugh Walker regarding an
appearance by Caroline at the forthcoming cermonies at Akron, OH1 the
following report was received by him and passed on to us. It comes from
Confederate Air Force Inc. Headquarters at Midland International Airport,
Texas ... " The B-26 is at Midland undergoing a detailed inspection. When
the wing inspection pane~s were pulled, it was found that the left wing
spar is heavily corroded and cracked. Unfortunately, Caroline will be down
for an extended time while we attempt to find another wing. Failing that,
we will have to tear the wing down and replace the spar. If, in your
contact with other B-26 Marauder Historical Society members you find
someone with knowledge of a B-26 wing, please give me a call. We sincerely
regret that Caroline will be absent for the Victory Celebrations. We look
forward to supporting future events." The letter is signed by John T.
Wilson. Director of Operations. <what a pity it's a wing they want and not
a radio/gunner's seat, I could have helped out! ED)
THAT'S DEAR!
Col. Walker is in charge of preparations leading up to the dedication ;of
the Marauder Archive at Akron on June 9 and had anticipated paying the GAF
over $12, 000 for Caroline to attend. He tells us that he is negotiating
with Kirmi t Weeks for his, ex Tallichet, Marauder to fly from it's new home
in Florida. Hugh is, however, apprehensive that the new owner may not
fully understand the techniques required to control the tricky 'short­winged'
model. Hugh used to teach single-engine procedures on these
machines and knows about such things.
THE CRUSADERS AND THE USAF MUSEUM
In executive sessions at recent reunions the 386th BG Association Board of
Directors has been discussing various ways to establish perpetual exposure
for the Crusaders at the USAF Museum in Dayton. Whilst there is a B-26 on
display and a few other B-26 groups are represented by various plaques and
one garden sculpture, the 386th remains at this time without substantial
representation at this important world class museum.
4
The 8th AF Historical Society is currently constructing an authentic
replica of a typical East Anglia WW2 control tower at the museum which is
identical to the one the 386th used at their Great Dunmow base. Since the
386th flew many missions under the flag of the 8th AF, the 386th Board has
voted to seek permanent representation in the control tower as a first step
to increasing the Group's exposure at the museum. This will be
accomplished by including in the structure an authentic brick from one of
the original buildings still standing at the base at Great Dunmow. The
brick will be placed on a permanant interior wall map sculpture of East
Anglia, along with bricks representing many other bomber and fighter groups
located on the map according to their location in England. The brick will
carry the legend., "Great Dunmow, 386th Bomb Group." Reverend Filby, the
Association chaplain, who lives just on the edge of the Great Dunmow base,
is currently sending the 386th brick to the construction coordinator of the
Memorial Control Tower. The Board ~s also investigating the possibility of
a memorial tree at the Museum and/or .joining other B-26 groups who already
have plaques in the Memorial Garden surrounding the existing bronze
Marauder sculpture.
In recent years, the members of the Association have established the
American Memorial Chapel, with it's Crusader Stained Glass windows, in
Little Easton Church, the 386th plaque at the Air Force Academy in Colorado
Springs, and the recently dedicated plaques at Boxted, Beaumont sur Oise,
France, and St. Trend, Belgium. It is felt that an increased exposure at
the Air Force Museum in Dayton is the last Memorial project the Association
will undertake. <From the Crusaders Newsletter of the 386th Bomb Group
<M> Association, Inc.)
THE SAGA OF THE WORRY WART by Ed Young, 557th BS, 387th BG.
To tell you about aircraft #131672 "Worry Wart", I have to go back to
Godman Field, Kentucky. I was flying with a surplus crew. None of us was
assigned and not getting the kind of training we needed. We flew wing on
one of those "Flour Bag" missions to hit an Army airfield. I happened to
see the field out of the corner of my eye and peeled off and we really
socked it to that field all by ourselves. When we got back to Godman and
were discussing the mission with Col. Storrie, he asked who left the
formation and made a bomb run alone. Had to admit it was me, so got a
well-deserved dressing down. He told me we were leaving for- Selfridge
Field to pick up our combat aircraft and, at the moment, there was no place
for me. I don't know how our orphan crew got to Selfridge, but I think we
hitched a ride. When we got there I was told there was' nt an aircraft for
me. I asked if I could find a 8-26 and get it fitted out, could we go with
the rest of the Squadron? I was told yes, because no one thought it could
be done. We got busy and found a B-26 that was being cannibalized way
over in the corner of the field. Many instruments were missing, batteries
gone, even several cylinders missing from the engines. I'll never know how
that crew did it, but things began to happen. We begged, stole, and made
several "midnight requisitioning" trips, and that B-26 began to take shape.
We couldn't come up with a suitable name, so we decided on "Worry Wart",
there was a comic strip at the time using that name for the little kid1 who
was always in and out of trouble and that was the feeling we had for our B-
26. We finished our work on it the night before the outfit left for Hunter
5
Field, GA, for modifications. I'm sure most of the fellows will remember
that trip. I was flying close formation on the wing of Capt. Scott and
did' nt see what we were getting into but we ran into a real thunderstorm.
The outfit was scattered all over that part of the U.S. I don't know how
that ship held together, as we were going up and down about as fast as we
were flying. When we came out underneath the storm, we were flying in a
valley somewhere in Kentucky, and I had to go up into that mess again. I
made the choice to try to find our destination and we flew time and
direction, trying to find some field. We were running very short on fuel
when I happened to see a runway. We didn't have gas enough to make a
proper approach, so down came the wheels and flaps and we landed, It was
raining cats and dogs and when I applied the brakes nothing happened. I
pulled the air bottle to lock the brakes and we slid down the r·unway, off
the end, through fl fence, jumped a small ditch, and stopped next to a big
highway with the wheels mired in the mud. I thought that "Worry Wart" was
ruined but they pulled her out, cleaned her, put her in a hanger, and not a
thing was damaged.
All this took time and the Squadron took off for Presque Isle, ME, and we
were left all alone. As soon as the ship was released for service, we took
off to try to catch up with the rest of the Squadron and just about the
time we were entering Virginia, we h:l. t a buzzard and he wound up in the
cockpit with u~ It was rather windy so we landed at Norfolk to get a n~w
windshield, About this time I got the feeling that we had named this ship
just right.. It took three days and three women mechanics to instal one
windshield, and when we finally got into the air again, we flew to Presque
Isle, but the Squadron had gone on.
We flew to Goose Bay and still didn't catch up with the Squadron, they were
always just ahead of us. We were told that if we wanted to go overseas-we
would have to fly from there to Greenland alone. We decided to take a
chance, so they gave us a real good briefing. The weather on the way to
Greenland was terrible. Halfway there our radio went out, so we depended
on our navigator to get us there. He was perfect and hit our fjord right
on the button. Not having radio contact, we had to fly right in. We had
been told that you made a fast left turn and the runway would be right
there and you had to land. This runway was uphill with a mountain at the
end, so you were committed. I made my landing turn and there in the middle
of the runway was an aircraft that had crashed. Red lights were flashing
all over the place, so I gave "Worry Wart" all she had and she pulled us
out of there like the good girl she was, We flew around for a while to
give them time to clear the runway, and made our landing. The Squadron was
still there, waiting for good weather to fly on to Iceland.
Our boys found a radio and got it installed in time for the flight out, but
on the way to Iceland it went out on us, but by flying formation, we didn't
have any problems. In Iceland, the radio was repaired and we all took off
for Scotland, When we landed, we had one tyre almost flat, but we were on
the ground long enough to get it repaired.
After we arrived at Station 162 in England, "Worry Wart" got down to
business and performed wonderfully. I know that the Squadron maintenance
people had a lot to do with that.
6
Sadly enough, shortly after I rotated back to the States, "Worry Wart" came
back from a mission all shot up, ran off the end of the runway and was
salvaged. She was cannibalized and ended up just as she began. The ship
had flown 113 missions before the crash landing of 10 December 1944. <Prom
"Yea Botz" the newsletter of the 557th Bomb Squadron Inc).
SORROWFUL MEMORY by c. Russell Reynolds. 316th TCG.
When I was a new recruit in Texas, I went on an overnight bivouac and lost
some equipment. I had to report this to an old sergeant on return to the
airfield next morning. In his presence I was on the point of actually
shedding tears, when he said, "come on around here to this side of the
counter and look on the wall there." I looked and he had a towel nailed to
the wall by his desk. He said, "go cry in the towel and then come and sign
for the equipment which will be taken out of the scanty pay you receive for
the scant effort you are making. "
JOYF'UL MEMORY by Jerry King. 316th TCG.
I came to England in 1944, via North Africa, Sicily, and Italy. We landed
at Gourock, Scotland, and then settled down in Leicestershire, at RAF
Cottesmore, our 'home' for 13 months. Newly arrived in a foreign land, we
soldiers had to learn the 'do' s and don' ts' and the 'whys and wherefors'
and were quarantined for 14 days being given a pass into town. Being 30
miles from town, and not a direct route, we would have to change trucks at
Uppingham or Melton Mowbray. March 27, 1944, the date the pass was given
to myself and my buddies, found us in a pub next to a dance hall called the
Corn Exchange. Not wishing to imbibe too much, my buddies decided to go
next door to the Corn Exchange, to dance and get acquainted with the girls.
Since I didn't particularly care to dance, I opted to stay behind. They
said they would buy me a ticket and leave it at the box-office, so if and
when I came, I could collect it.
Approximately one half hour later, staggering slightly, I stood in the
doorway of the Corn Exchange and surveyed the entire ensemble dancing. I
spotted a few of my buddies and gave them a grin. It was then I saw HER,
this tall, lovely-looking brunette with a tremendously full head of hair.
She was dancing and I couldn't take my eyes off her. When that dance was
over and she sat down without her partner, I quickly hurried over to her
and asked her to dance. She looked at me carefully, hesitated and then
said, "Yes I will." While dancing <I stepped on her toes quite often), I
asked, knowing I would be in again on Sunday, if I could take her to
church. She neither accepted or declined.
I spent all of the time talking to and dancing with her, and when the dance
was over and I had to catch my truck back to camp, I said to her, "If I
tell you something, will you promise not to laugh'?" She said she wouldn't
laugh. "Well" I said, "I bet I marry you."
The next time I saw her she told her girl friends, and they laughed all the
way home that day. Anyway, we met March 27, 1944 and married June 18,
1944, our eldest son was born in England April 10, 1945. And so, four
7
children and ten grandchildren later, guess who got the last laugh! (Jerry
King has become a contributor .and member of BOTNA, as the result of a
chance meeting between himself and member Alan Willey at the 1994 RAF
Cottesmore Community Day. Hot on Jerry's tail came Bud Rice, Mike Ingrisano
and 1 Russ' Reynolds. We therefore staded 1995 with FOUR 316th TCG
veterans on our roster, instead of none! ED>
UPDATE ON WIDEWING
Member Richard Harries has provided some new facts related to his articles
in recent issues of BOTNA BULLETIN.
It has now been fully established that the information about Chestnut
Avenue in Bushy Park being used as a runway by the 8USAAF/USSAFE/SHAEF is
totally erroneous. The facts are that the Avenue was open to civilian
traffic throughout the war. Adjacent timber poles were erected at
intervals along it's sides, with trip-wire attached between them as an
anti-invasion measure in 1940. The only airstrip in Widewing was the small
one constructed for light aircraft of the ! 12th Liaison Squadron, Ninth
AF, situated parallel with the Hampton Court/Hampton Wick/Kingston Bridge
round-a-bout road.
There is also some doubt about Upper Lodge/" KCS" being used by SHAEF for
the study of the effects of chemical warfare. My two main informants on
this subject have, unfortunately, died. However, notices were definately
erected around the 11 KCS11 complex, warning local inhabitants not to venture
too near because of the dangerous scientific work being undertaken there.
Whether experiments were really taking place or it was just a method for
SHAEF to increase security, is still a very debatable point. My own
opinion now is that it was just a security 'ruse' by SHAEF, although there
are many local inhabitants who still maintain it was used for secret
experiments.
LISTEN. THAT' S US by Mike Ingrisano. 316th TCG.
We had picked up wounded after D-Day from Normandy and transported them to
a base on the east coast, I can't remember where. The C-4-7 was rigged so
we could lash belts from the top of the fuselage to the floor. These belts
had three slots in them to acccommodate the handles of stretchers. As I
recall we could get three high, and perhaps three or four deep on each side
of the aircraft, We made our delivery, could it have been Gravesend? <very
likely. ED), unloaded the wounded into ambulances, and then took off for
Cottesrnore. It was late afternoon, the weather was failing fast.
We had no navigator on board <we rarely carried one unless we were on a
squadron mission), and then he would usually fly in the lead plane. and the
others followed. We headed in the general direction of Cottesmore and were
totally engulfed in fog and the lowering ceiling. After a length ·Of -time,
which seemed like an eternity, Lt. Harmony, the co-pilot, finally raised
the home tower. The news, of course, was "YOU' R ON YOUR OWN." Can't you
hear our engines7" we pleaded. "Do you have a distinctive sound or are
they like all the others?" answered smart ass in the tower. As we circled,
8
trying to determine if we were close, Lt. Prindible our pilot, spotted the
steeple of a church, which we recognised as a landmark close to home. Just
about then, one of us spotted runways through a slight break in the clouds.
At the yell, Lt. Prindible almost bent her on her back (imagine that in an
old Goose!), nosed the ship over and down. Low and behold, at almost
ground level, we found.the runway.
We taxied over to the tower. One or more of our people came running up as
we cut our engines. The crew chief opened the door and let down the steps.
When I exited, I got on my knees and kissed the ground, I was soaking with
sweat. I said something about being glad to be on the ground. One of the
people said, "Glad, you mean lucky ... listen" All was quiet except for the
roar of B-17s coming home from a mission, and there were lots of them. I
never heard to the contrary, but I prayed that they too made H
home ... wherever that was!!
IS IT THE BIG ONE? by Charles H. Coffin. 391st BG.
May was a very active month for us, we worked on a 16 day cycle, as I
remember, two days on operations, two days off, two days operations, two
days off, two days operations standby, two days off, two days standby, two
days leave. Some of the off days were spent at ground school, Link trainer
etc, sometimes we also flew missions on off days.
By May 15, we were able to put 54 ships in the air at one time .. , during the
night hour~ taking off at night and landing by night, not bombing though!
This was to prepare us for D-Day operations.
We would play soft ball, among other things, until it got dark enough to
properly train for night flying. It was carried on along with other opera­tional
activities. I can still remember Col. Williams <Group C.0) at these
games, but can't remember his activity, maybe umpire. The CO would
certainly be able to make his calls stick! It never did get really dark
during May, even at midnight, but we went on with the exercise anyway. I
recall that we did not have to take off and land in pitch dark, except
perhaps for D-Day itself, when at 04. 35, as we were getting into our B-26s,
I remember a lot of 8th AF activity and flares bursting high overhead as
the heavies formed up high over our base. Our crew chief, "Ziggy" Indyke,
asked me if it was D-Day because of the overhead activity, we had been
strictly instructed to tell no one about D-Day until we got back from our
mission. By 8AM that day, I believe President Roosevelt, PM Churchill,
Eisenhower, etc, had announced the Invasion had started and was going okay.
Our route was over the beaches and then across the Cherbourg Peninsula, and
out near the Channel Islands, not too near because of the heavy flak, then
across the Channel for landfall near Portsmouth. On no account were we to
turn back into the traffic, regardless of the problem, as the bomber stream
would be very heavy. Jim Clark <sadly no longer with us. ED> was my co­pilot
that morning, we were flight leaders, and at one time I went back and
looked out of the bomb bay at the activity on the water. I saw this big
battle-wagon shelling the beach, all nine guns going at one time. I could
see the fire and smoke from the barrels and how the whole ship would slide
sideways in the water from the recoil, with white water swirling around on
9
one side. I found out later that it was the battleship Texas. Being from
Texas that was important information for met
We did not fully realise the historical significance of all we saw and did
at that time. The passing years have increased our awareness of the
importance of what we were asked to do and made us proud to have
participated.
WELL. HE KNEW WHAT HE MEANT! by Norman Hoxie, 555th BS. 386th BG.
Our crew was fully aware of the many crashes of the B-26 Marauder when we
started training in that bomber at Avon Park in 1943. The fact that many
of our flights would be in early short-winged models, added to our anxiety.
We had made only a few flights when an emergency bail out procedure arrived
from Wing Headquarters with the following instructions: "The pilot will
ring the bail-out bell and then repeat the word "jump" three times over the
interco~" As we prepared for the next flight, the tail gunner asked our
pilot, Russ Bowling, if he would use that procedure, and the pilot replied,
"Certainly I will, but you'd better go on the first "jump" if you want to
hear the other two." <From The Crusaders Newsletter)
COMING HOME By Ron Kennedy. Ninth Service Command.
The vagaries of command contrived to attach roe, and some of my buddies, to
the 365th FG "The Hellhawks", for our trip back home to the U.S. The ship
chosen to transport us was called the "William and Mary", one of several
dozen cargo ships built during the last years of the war to replace sunk or
aging Liberty ships. They were more sophisticated, faster, and with a
greater carrying capacity than the old Libertys. They were named after
various colleges and universities in the States. William and Mary was one
in Virginia named, of course, after the British King and his Queen. She
had been converted from a cargo carrier and was making her first voyage as
a troop carrier. After a couple of. days into her outward voyage it was
determined that she wasn't properly ballasted and put back into port for
adjustments.
When the Hell hawks arrived at Camp Tophat in Antwerp, they and we were
assigned to the William and Mary for our trip home. The fact that she
didn't arrive on schedule didn't seem to worry the brass. We were assigned
to her and she would take us home .. someday .. so we sat and waited. Tophat
had been set up as a 'fast in and fast out' cam~ so their entertainment
program was limited, and seeing the one camp show two or three times became
boring, they apparently only changed the movie every one or two weeks.
During our stay the movie was the Judy Garland classic, "Meet Me In St.
Louis." After seeing it three or four times we knew all the words to the
songs and most of the dialogue. I can still hear Judy saying, "if there is
one thing I hate, despise, loathe and abominate, it's money", to which her
father replies, "and you also spend it!"
Eventually the William and Mary arrived and we took off for home. On the
way we ran into some rough weather and many of the Hellhawks stayed in
10
their nests sucking lemons and eating soda crackers. We finally made
Boston, and in a couple of days were dispersed to various demob centres and
the Hellhawks became history. CFrom a personal letter to the Editor)
THE WAY IT WAS
A. DAVID CHILDS. his story
Dave Childs was a pilot of the 377th FS, 362nd FG who was shot down and
parachuted, severely bur·ned, into enemy territory. No one observed Dave's
very-low altitude bail out from his P-47, which was seen to crash and burn
on a grassy hillside. He was reported as probably killed in action.
On the occasion of the first 377th FS Reunion at Dayton, OH in 1960,
members were revelling in the lobby of the hotel, overjoyed at seeing their
wartime comrades again. The door opened and a gent wearing a white Stetson
hat, cowboy boots and thick glasses came in, approaching the others
familiarly, with a wide grin on his face. "Howdy, it's great to see you
again!" Sure .. BUT we had to ASK! "Who are YOU?" "I'm Dave Childs" came
the reply and the room fell silent and we stood with our mouths hanging
open, our hearts bursting with joy ... could this be real?
He didn't LOOK much like the Dave Childs we remembere~ yet, there was a
certain magnetism in his voice that uncorked a memory of a long-ago
comrade, Multiple reconstructive surgeries presented a different visage
from the lad we once knew, but that stout heart and ready wit was
unmistakable ... it really was our Dave! (edited version of an article from
the 362nd FG Association newsletter).
The "Dave Childs story" directly touched BOTNA when, in 1992, Dave applied
for Membership with the information that he been a pilot with the 362nd .. As
ever, we delightedly included him in our "American Roster" of Ninth AF
veterans. In his subsequent correspondence, Dave made no mention of the
raw experiences he had undergone, neither did he enlarge on them when we
met him aboard QE2 last year. Not until reading a recent issue of the
362nd FG Association newsletter did your editor become aware that this man
Dave Childs had a tremendous story to tell.
At your editors request, Dave was kind enough to send us a copy of his
personal account of what happened to him on 17 November 1944, just before
his 22nd birthday. He entitled this account simply ... A Series of Events.
I led the two-ship attack in a hard-driving strafing run. We hit and
pulled off the two locomotive target, up and out. This was a heavily
defended railroad in industrial rugged countryside, We'd been waiting out
zero zero days. The mission was called quick as the weather opened a
window. The locomotives were caught hiding like kids smoking behind the
barn, they were the first str-ike of the day. I'd slapped my steak between
two slices of GI bread as we'd headed for the flightline, finished as I
climbed to the cockpit. First steak I could remember in France, I'd opted
for the early lunch, didn't want to find it had gone when we got back.
11
Climbing back to initial altitude, I looked over the situation. Somehow
the locomotive on the right didn't appear to have been hit, the one on the
left was erupting steam. They were sitting side by side under a bridge, on
side tracks off the main line, a difficult target in the narrow valley.
Perhaps the second engine didn't have steam up and wouldn't blow, I radioed
my wingman, "Cover me, I'm going back after the other one."
We saw no ground fire the first time, however I bumped the speed, trying to
tip the odds in my favour on this second try. I armed the two 500lb bombs,
figuring to get the works, lay 'em against a full backstop target, side
abutments, locomotives, bridge and tracks, all in one exploding bundle. It
was 'down the wire', straight in, with four to five second delay fusing.
Thumb the button, the lightened Jug popped up and over. I gave it the go­ahead,
full bore like giving reins to my saddle pony jumping a wash ln the
sage brush, heading after a critter, hopped over the bridge, skimmed low on
the deck over a creek-side field, the 362nd called it 'cabbage cutlin~" I
too was ener·gized, added more throttle going up the valley, banked hard
right at the first side canyon, gave an over-the-shoulder, see your strike
look, not leisurely, like in the movies. My glance at double speed caught
a view of quad guns a lariat's length below my vertical banking
Thunderbolt's wing tip. I looked directly down on two gunners, saw
barrels, helmets and men. I felt hits, thump, thump, into the fuel tank
under my seat. Must be from guns across the narrow valley, hits felt like
little ruts in the snow and ice as I sped down the school-house hill on the
runners of my Flexible Flyer. I'll bet those gunners did the German equiva­lent
of a 1944 'high five'. L would have done! Four to five seconds after
I released the bombs, we're even!
Stay low. The instruments check O. K. Engine? Sounds perfect. Switch on
full oxygen. Dark smoke seeping up past my right arm, bright sunshine,
snow outside, skimming across rolling ridges, trees in gullies, too fast to
belly in, too low to jump. Black smoke, can't see, shove dark goggles up.
The sixth, maybe eighth second passed. My error? .. Toggle canopy open half
an inch. It's a nineth second mistake. In a mini-instant., ignition .. right
hand jabs into the torched fire stream, yanking the emergency canopy
release. I'd practised quick exits, soon as I cut the switch, it took
maybe 5 or 6 seconds, this time maybe two, possibly less.
I hadn't practised with phosphorus incendiary fired fuel in a 400 mile an
hour inferno. I'm a spectator, those hands are in individually automatic.,
jerk the stick back, release the harness, legs thrust, it's the TENTH
SECOND, this time it's right. I'm plucked and popped from the cockpit,
like a vintage cork heading in arching trajectory. Body cracked like a
bull-whip clear to my toes when the slipstream grabbed me by head and
shoulders, yanked me from the Thunderbolt like they were a drogue chute. I
spun in her wing-tip vortices, maybe the departing Jug pulled me into it's
dying arch. "Bless her," I thought as I struggled to overcome centrifugal
force. My brain cut in .. must compel my hand, wrist, and arm upward to the
D Ring over my left ribs. Muscles struggled in slow motion, hands got it.
Pull!! Twelfth or seventeenth, whichever, it was the right second! I was
barely above the snow1 going up the valley's right ridge at my last look
that day in 1944.
12
The rip-cord activated the sequence, faster than a blink, in awe, both
challenged and challenger I rode. Nylon snapped, jerking my body like a
sapling caught in a haul back line. WHAM! the Jug blew up in a red/gold
fireball dead ahead, where treetops cut off my view. Joy and elation
applauded my short rush to earth, my feet hit and jammed hard through six
inches of snow. My legs crumbled as I hit squarely in the rut of a two
track forest road on a slight slope. My rump slammed past my knees and
thudded down between the snow-covered tracks.
I was downed in forested hills south of the Mosel, west of the Rhine and
east of Sarrbrucken. It took effort to balance my body on my knees, kind
of like being on stilts with stiff be.ill joints below th!:! step. I delved
for comprehension, my left eye was dim, my right eye was seeing but swell­ing
fast, I at tempted to scoop snow on my face, I couldn't, my leather
gauntlets were burne~ encasing each hand in the grasp of flame shrunken
leather. My chute harness had a pocket with a large easy to move zipper.
Inside I kept a marine knife, just in case. Using my arms and hands like a
pair of tongs, I slid the zipper. Fumbling with the knife, I slit the back
of the left gauntlet, had to slit each finger stall, wool inner gloves were
battered and torn, but protected my hand and speeded the tedious process of
freeing my encased fingers. I was wearing T-shirt, shorts, long-johns,
'greens',, wool shirt and trousers, knitted long sleeved sweater, the
leather gauntlets, with wool liners, and twill flight suit. This day, I'd
changed my goggles lens to dark because of the new snow and patches of
bright sun. My trousers were tucked into buckled and laced combat boots,
paratrooper style. My feet were now very loose in the boots, laces visibly
stretched. I'd heeded warnings about being downed and barefoot! I'd run
the mile and done cross-country running in highschool, college, and Air
Force Cadets. Had beaten myself a couple of times, but lucked out mostly.
I was counting on running in the 1948 Olympics!
Would I get better and quickly shake it off? Would my legs function?
Could I get away from the site and lose myself and my tracks somehow? White
chute over snow, treetop height, same time as the aircraft exploded into
the hill, my jump probably wasn't seen by either friendly or enemy eyes.
How bad are fill'.. eyes? I glimpsed my hands, thumbs were black as though
smashed with a hammer. I raised a hand up to my forehead, it felt like
leather, I thought, "how could my flying helmet have stayed o.n?" I reached
with both hands for chin strap and ear flaps, there were none, there was no
helmet! I felt my hide and did a hasty inventory. My limbs seemed to be
working but sockets seemed loose. I checked for my escape kit, both it and
the leg pocket holding it were ripped out and gone. My nose and mouth were
O.K. I'd left my ship ignoring the oxygen mask, radio plugs, and without
saying goodbye. I slipped the wool glove-liners back on. Some of the
glove's fingers were holed at the tip and burned. My chute, hanging over
wild rose bushes, showed rows of saucer sized blackened holes, like unfold­ing
cut-outs. The snow was unbroken, not a track anywhere. No use to bury
the chute, everything I did would be written in the snow. My dog tags were
missing from my neck, the string burned through. My neck, wrists, fingers,
calves, chin, forehead and eyelids, were burned severely. I needed to get
away from the road and, one step at a time I walked, slanting uphill,
through the park-like groomed forest. It was slow going trying to balance
my body on my loose knee sockets, my eyes were closing and I pressed snow
on my right eye.
13
I heard young-sounding voices ahead and glimpsed hurrying figures through
an opening. I felt like an elk, partially concealed in shade, while
watching a hunter go by. I slippea into the end of a brush pile, hunkering
down close on one knee. They were walking the ridge, the voices faded to
my right. I needed to get moving .. which way? I tried to think clearly,
how badly was I hurt? Could I make it on my own. They were probably
civilians, I remembered vaguely, ~avoid civilians, your chances are better
with the military in Germany." Decision time ended quickly with the sound
of a motor vehicle coming onto the road or track. Mot.or meant military, it
stopped down near my parachute. It was now or never. I had always
expected to be miles away in a short time if I had to jump. "First few
minutes are critical." I'd been doubled down for perhaps ten minutes. I
tried to get up, I was stiff. My knees were tightening, my tendons
wouldn't work, my jaw would hardly move, and my sight was dimming fast. The
options were all centred right on the spot. My ears and senses told me
that I would be in plain view after they got on the track and looked up.
I concluded that I had only one line of defence, that was, to gain my
captor's respect. I could see maybe fifty yards and, by that time I could
stand and walk, measured and very clumsily, Their low voices seemed
cautious, they moved uphill and I was spotted! I didn't want to make any
excuse for them to fire. An accented command, "hands up" came up the hill,
dim walking figures showed in my curtained vision. I raised both my arms,
hands pointing to my eyes, a gesture about halfway between a referee's
signal for a touch down and a Methodist preacher's blessing of the
offering. The soft snow muffled their steps as, three abreast, they came
on, following my tracks.
The leader stopped close in front of me. He said, "for you the war is
over, will you have a cigarette?" I reached for the upper left pocket. of
my flight suit, it too was gone. I said, "I'm sorry but my cigarettes are
gone." He said, "no, would you like a cigarette?" I responded, "no thank
you." He asked, "are you armed?" I pointed inside my sweater. He pulled
out the large marine knife and scabbard saying, "Souvenir. 11 He reached
into my chest pencil pocket, retrieving a small penknife, he handed it to
another saying, "one more souvenir. 11 I didn't ask him to look for my
favoured ranch stock knife which I'd discovered had torn out through the
bottom of my trouser pocket back yonder.
I gave him my name, rank, and serial number. I told him my dog tags had
gone. He asked how many were in my airplane. I told him that according to
the Geneva convention I was only permitted to give him my name, rank and
serial number. One of them steadied me at each elbow and ~e slowly started
down the hill. The car was a small sedan, it stood in bright sunshine.
He placed me, rump leaning against the left front fender and said, "you
will stay while we search for the others. 11 I was left with one guard.
I was anxious to get away from the vehicle, it was a likely target. I felt
bravado at standing my ground, a small accomplishment, but I felt it was
right not to tell them anything, although I wanted to say, "it was a single
seat plane, I was alone and I need medical aid. " I was relieved when the
two searchers finally came back, I'd felt the chill of cloud cover which
lessened the chance of being spotted and attacked by little friends, We
drove for some time.
11
! I
14
I'd seen wounded rabbits, and other animals, burned badly in grass fires.
I knew it was a fine line between trying to save them or putting the poor
devil out of his misery. I felt the need to recall a few German words. WWl
magazines and my 12 year-old city cousin Ed, were meagre sources for German
language schooling.
I knew I was very fortunate and that the adrenalin was slowing, but I was
seeing less and less. I wondered if I'd be able to stand up or walk, even
with aid, for much longer. In my best shot at being understood I questioned
"Dok tor und Staff?" I got a response, the tone of which was a little
reassuring, followed by discussion among my captors. Eventually I felt the
tyres hit a smoother, better road. The sight in my one open eye was
getting ver·y dim.
RETURN TO THE VERY SPOT ..
When Dave Childs put his, and his wife Peg's name, down for the 1994 Ninth
AFA Return to Normandy, he also determined to rediscover the place where
his miraculous escape had occurred. His quest for the site began with
Portland Air National Guard Base, where he was told that the present Air
Force Chief of Staff, Ge~ Merrill MacPeak, was keen on the USAF Heritage
Program and recommended that Dave contact Ramstein AFB <Headquarters of the
USAF' in Europe) for assistance with locating local citizens who might have
knowledge of his crash site.
To his delight, he received a FAX from the Public Affairs Office of the
89th Wing at Ramstein AFB, asking for any details Dave could remember. Dave
replied to Gerlinde Berberich, a civilian interpreter for the Public
Affairs Office. Drawing on his remarkable recall of the events of his last
mission, he described the location of the two locomotives he attacked near
the village of Lambrecht. Then1 based on memory, Dave calculated and
sketched the direction his plane took after the low-level attack1 and the
approximate distances after his plane was hit and he bailed out.
Subsequently, he received another FAX from Gerlinde in which she told him
of six responses she had from her query in local newspapers. Some were
obviously related to other crashes. One however1 from a Frau Frommknecht,
appeared to be from a living witness of the crash, she had been 17 at the
time. In addition1 Gerlinde Berberich told of a local business man1 Uwe
Benkel, whose hobby was locating and unearthing WWZ crash sites.
In due course, after a visit to the Chateau Sept-Sauix, which had once
served as quarters for officers of the 362nd FG, and where he had eaten his
last steak sandwich for a long time, Dave, accompanied by his wife Peg1 and
fellow 362nd FG veteran, Chuck Mann and his wife Fern, set off in a hired
car for Ramstein. The TV crews and other members of the media, were there
to cover the story. Also awaiting them were Frau Frommknecht, her husband,
and Herr Benkel.
Their next stop was to be the hospital at Kaiserlautern where Dave had been
taken after his capture. The building they were taken to proved to be a
modern building and was certainly not the place Dave had recollections of.
A passer-by solved the puzzle by telling the party that they ought to try
the old hospital which was on a hill behind the present building. A walk
up the side street and Dave remembered how the truck had turned right and
15
the driver gunned the engine to climb the hill and then turned sharp left
into the hospital entrance .. this was IT!
Later they were taken to the immediate area where Dave landed after his
perilous parachute jump, new vegetation preventing them from identifying
the exact spot 1 but the shape of the terrain and it's proximity to the rail
tracks, satisfied Dave that this was about right.
When he had opened the canopy, the smoking cockpit erupted into an inferno.
He estimated he was still doing over 350 mph and a training film had told
him that opening a parachute at such speeds would either break his neck or
tear the chute to shreds. He had little choice however, for, he was being
burned and the plane might explode at any moment. So, despite the fact that
the plane was only a couple of hundred feet up., he jumped! He is
convinced that the only thing that saved his life is the fact that the
chute was also burning and the holes vented the canopy so that it stayed in
one piece.
From the area where he had landed, Dave and the others got back in the cars
and headed up a twisting mountain track, almost to the top of the tallest
hill in the vicinity. Here Herr Benkel stopped and informed them that here
was the place where Dave's P747 had crashed. Jurgen Fronunknecht marked the
spot on a map and gave it to Dave for his keeping. After they had examined
the site, Herr Benkel went to his car and produced a box filled with parts
from the crashed plane.
There was a cover plate in excellent condition, with a part number clearly
on it, which had popped it's rivets in the crash, part of a bronze trim
gear, a drain valve, a bit of oil hose and numerous partially burned pieces
from the aircraft's skin. The TV cameras rolled and the interviewers wer·e
lapping up every moment.
Next on the itenerary was a trek to the Rathaus <Town Hall) in Weidenthal,
where the Mayor toasted Dave and Peggy and treated the crowd to the finest
wines of the region, before presenting Dave with a book about the town, and
a handsomely sculptured stein. Peggy was presented with a beautiful cup
and saucer set. Truly a hero's welcome from the citizens of a former
enemy, as. . "For them the war was over! "
In return, the Americans presented gifts to the Mayor, Frau Frommknecht and
Herr Benkel, for their part in making it such a rewarding day of discovery.
Then they all went to dinner at a local restaurant and wound out the
evening with warm wishes and thanks for an unforgettable day.
The following da~ the four Americans returned and located the twin rail
tracks, and the valley up which Dave had turned in his plan to "stay low
and avoid the flak" at Frankenecht adjoining Lambrecht. It seems at least
one flak gunner was shooting well that fateful day. <With acknowledgements
to Chuck Mann. )
On the following page is reproduced Dave Childs drawing of "A Series of
Events", the most amazing of which concerns his remarkable survival <ED),
~ I
..,...----- ... ~------
17
UXBRIDGE AND ASCOT. 4 JUNE 1944
Postponement of at least 24 hours of D-Day because of weather was announced
at the combined operations conference at Advance Hqs of AEAF. It is
evident that General Eisenhower faces one of the most difficult decisions
in millitary history in naming the new date for D-Day and H-Hour.
As far as the Ninth Air Force is concerned, the invasion started back in
May when we went to work on our twofold program of maintaining air
superiority and isolating the battlefield. From 16 May through 4 June, the
Ninth conducted 2, 253 sorties against 34 hostile ai"rfields within a 130
miles radius of the battle area, and the Luftwaffe was attacked wherever it
could be found, in the afr or on the ground. To prevent the enemy's
movement, 2, 791 sorties were flown in which 35 bridges were destroyed or
damaged, and numerous marshalling yards severely damaged.
In addition to these two missions, the Ninth executed a diversionary plan
to disguise our intentions. The battle area for Operation NEPTUNE is
bounded on the north by the Seine River, on the east by a series of railway
bridges extending from Paris to Orleans (referred to as the Paris/Orleans
Gap), and on the south by the Loire River. In order not to compromise our
intentions, no attention could be paid to the bridges over the Loire of the
Paris/Orleans Gap. At tacks on the highway and railroad bridges over the
Seine could be interpreted by the enemy in two ways: <1) Either we wished
to keep those forces south of the Seine from entering the Pas-de-Calais, or
<2> we wished to keep the forces ·in the Calais area from entering the
Normandy area.
For each attack made in the Normandy area <except attacks on the Seine
bridges), approximately two attacks were made in the area to the north.
This was designed to confuse the enemy as to our plans. Attacks on the
Seine bridges were interspersed with similer attacks in the north and east,
generally along the Meuse and Oise, to further mislead the enemy.
Col. Elliott Roosevelt reported for duty and was given carte blanche to
make whatever changes are necessary in the Photographic Reconnaissance
units to raise the standard of their performance. <From "The Brereton
Diaries", by Lt. General Lewis H. Brereton.)
WILD RIDE ON LSD by Bill Lorimer 410th BG.
Some 20 years ago the "in" drug was LSD, it did eerie things to one's
brain, sending one on an elusive trip.
Let's board LSD and take our own mystic trip. The date was 7 February
1945. A seven man British flying crew takes off in a Lancaste1- with the
squadron code LSD, on a night bombing mission. 75% of the squadron returns
to the base without bombing due to bad weather and icing conditions. LSD
heads for it's secondary target at 9000 feet, turning after bombs away with
the bomb bay doors still open. An enemy shell tears a hole up through the
right wing, sending the aircraft into a diving spin and out of control. At
about 3000 feet the pilot levels the plane and orders the crew to abandon
ship. Then he sets the auto-pilot and also bails out, becoming a POW in
18
company with the other crewmen. The shell that tore through the wing cut
some hydraulic lines, lowering the right and left landing gear partly.
The flaps were also partially lowered,
The 410th BG arrived at A68 Juvencourt from Coulommiers on 9 February 1945,
and a Lt. Francis took movies of the field. Lo and behold, LSD appears on
this movie, showing the hole in the wing, the open hatch through which the
crew bailed out, the left wing touching the ground, the damaged landing
gear and the bomb doors torn off,
There could only be one answer ... LSD landed by itself!
This remarkable story, reprinted from the 410th WW2 Association Newsletter,
can be confirmed by BOTNA members who watched this very film <on video) at
one o,t last year's meetings. First spotted by member Reg Robinson, LSD was
paused and freeze framed over and over, so that we could get as much detail
from her as possible. Through the RAF Association, Reg discovered that the
plane had been carrying an Australian crew when it flew on it's last
outing. He went on to make contact with one of the crewmen who had left it
in a hurry that night in February 1945.
BRIGADIER GENERAL JAMES H.HOWARD
Another Ninth AF legend joined the exodus from this troubled world when, on
Saturday, 18 March 1995, at the VA Medical Centre, Bay Pines, Brig. Gen.
James H. Howard CUSAF Ret) died, aged 81. There can't be a U.S. Ninth Air
Force devotee who hasn't been filled with admiration for the single-handed
determination with which, the then, Lt Col. Howard, leader of the 356th FS,
354-th FG, set about protecting B-17s of the 401st BG C!gainst something in
the order of 30 ME-109s, The outcome of that action is too well-known to
require reiteration here. It earned Col. Howard a well-deserved Medal of
Honor and the undying admiration of a grateful bunch of Fortress crewmen.
That one-sided battle of 11 January 1944 has been called "the greatest
fighter pilot story of WW2", few will argue that for sheer audacity,
selfless resolution, unyielding heroism, coupled with the pilot's belief in
himself as well as his aircraft, the story has a just claim on that title.
A quiet man, James Howard once summed up his feelings at the beginning of
that memorable action with, "at the time I headed into those Messerschmitts
I didn't feel there was a choice. I really M.Q_ to do it."
A former Flying Tiger in China, where he was born, he was the only fighter
pilot in the ETO to win the Medal of Honor. In June 1941 he resigned his
commission in the U.S. Navy to join Gen. Claire Chennault and fly with the
AVG, in the days before the U. S. entered WW2.
When the Flying Tigers were disbanded, he joined the Army Air Force and, .in
1943, was assigned to the 4th AF. He was then sent to England with the
354-th FG in October.
19
Because of his vast experience of the subject, Col. Howard was called upon
to help direct the fleet of fighter planes that covered the Allied landings
in Normandy, and later was Chief of Combat Operations for the Ninth AF.
In addition to the Medal of Honor, James Howard, received the Distinguished
Flying Cross with Oak Leaf Cluster, the Air Medal with ten Oak Leaf
Clusters, and the Chinese White Cloud Banner. The final honour was given
by the Ninth AF Association when it recently awarded Gen. Howard it's
"Great Warriers" accolade.
Gen. Howard was laid to rest on March 24, with full military honours, at
Arlington National Cemetary.
C-1 AUTOPILOT
The C-1 autopilot automatically controls the airplane in straight and level
flight, or maneuvers it in response to the fingertip control of the pilot
or bombardier,
The precision of even the most skillful human pilot is limited by his
reaction time. Reaction time in turn, varies with fatigue, inability to
detect deviations the instant they occur, errors in judgement, and muscle
coordination.
The autopilot, on the other hand, detects flight dev.iations the instant
they occur, and just as instantaneously operates the controls to correct
them. When properly adjusted, the autopilot neither overcontrols or
undercontrols the airplane, but keeps it flying straight and level with all
three control surf aces operating in proper coordination.
You must know how to preflight, engage, and adjust your autopilot. You will
be able to perform these operations more thoroughly if you also learn the
functions of it's various uni ts. Then, when maladjustments occur, you will
know how to correct them.
STABILIZER. The directional gyro of the bombsight stabilizer detects any
deviation of an airplane from straight flight. The autopilot clutch
connects the directional gyro to the directional panel. The directional
panel, attached to the side of the bombsight stabilizer, measures
electrically the deviations which the directional gyro notes. Signals then
are produced which direct the servo units to correct the deviation.
If you want to steer the airplane by the autopilot clutch, disengage it.
This disconnects the directional gyro from the directional panel. Now, you
are in control of the directional panel and, through it, you also control
the servo units. When you move the autopilot clutch you cause the airplane
to turn.
The airplane resumes straight and level flight when you again engage the
autopilot clutch to the directional gyro, or when you return the clutch to
center by hand.
20
The directional arm lock prevents the directional panel from cancelling out
signals put in by the turn control when you are using it to make a turn.
When the turn control is moved from CENTER, the solenoid of the direct.ional
arm lock causes the clamping jaws to lock the autopilot clutch arm in
position. The autopilot clutch slips throughout the turn. As soon as you
put the turn control back in CENTER, the autopilot clutch enables the
directional gyro to stabilize the airplane on it's new heading.
The dashpot is linked to the mechanism in the directional control panel
which produces the signal for rudder control. It increases the signal for
initial rudder correction as the speed of the airplane's yaw increases.
You can govern the extent of increase in that signal by adjusting the
knurled nut on the top of the dashpot.
VERTICAL FLIGHT GYRO. The autopilot's flight gyro detects any variation of
an airplane from level flight. It is mounted near the airplane1 s center of
gravity. The flight gyro measures electrically any deviation it picks u~
Signals then are produced which direct the servo units to apply control to
correct the deviation.
Unless the flight gyro remains vertical, it becomes an inaccurate reference
and you can no longer depend on it to maintain the airplane in level flight
It's automatic erection system <AES) keeps it constantly in a vertical
position, but when this erection system functions while the airplane is in
a turn it causes the flight gyro to assume a false vertical. To prevent
this, the erection system is automatically disengaged whenever you make a
turn control or directional panel turn (NO men, the AES is no longer in
production!! ED>.
AUTOMATIC CONTROL PANEL. The autopilot control panel <ACP>, located in the
pilot's compartment of an airplane, contains the switches, lights, and
knobs used to operate and adjust the autopilot.
Tell-tale lights show when the electrical trim of the autopilot agrees with
the manual trim of the airplane.
Centering knobs change the elecrical trim of the autopilot to agree with
the manual trim of the airplane.
Sensitivity ·knobs regulate the distance the airplane is allowed to deviate
from straight and level flight before the servo units apply control to
correct the deviation.
Ratio knobs regulate the amount the servo units move the control surfaces
for any given deviation of the airplane.
Turn compensation knobs regulate the amount of control necessary when the
directional panel is used in making a coordinated turn.
Turn control enables the pilot to make coordinated turns with the autopilot.
(Reproduced from BIF [Bombardiers Information File, AAF 24BJ courtesy of
Bombardiers Inc, DAPHNE, AL), <To be Continued),

Click tabs to swap between content that is broken into logical sections.

Rights Statement 2 (Copyright Held by UA): This image is protected by copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code). Copyright to this image lies with The University of Akron which makes it available for personal use for private study, scholarship, or research. Any other use of this image including publications, exhibitions, or productions is prohibited without written permission of The University of Akron Archival Services. Please contact Archival Services at archives@uakron.edu for more information.

BOTNA BULLETIN
THE NEWSLETTER OF THE BUDDIES OF THE NINTH ASSOCIATION
UOTNA
Vol. 8, No. 2 June 1995
And so another major WW2 anniversary comes and goes, this time, with no
controversy as to whether there was suitable cause for celebration! From
early this year throughout Britain there have already been numerous events
in commemoration of the end of WW2 in Europe, from street-parties to air
displays, with many more to come. Those of us who were around at the time
of the original VE Day rejoicing will remember that overwhelming feeling of
relief at having come through, often followed by the joyous realisation
that various onerous tasks to which war had committed us, were no longer
required. Some however, were feeling a pang of disappointment that .the war
in Europe had ended before they had had the chance to perform the deeds for
which they had been trained. The celebratory street parties which, on May 8
1995, were so carefully recreated throughout Britain, could never truly
recapture the atmosphere of 50 years ago, because a less-worldly, simpler,
people had attended the parties of 1945. They survived the war years eating
a totally different diet to that of toda~ nutritious but borin~ and
difficult to reproduce from today's ingredients. Believing themselves to
be on the threshold of a new beginning, they had lived through explosions
and fire, always knowing they were oh the winning side, confident they had
great cause for celebration, along with high hopes that the peace would
bring a better life, in closer cooperation, perhaps, with our frtends, the
Americans? That better life did, indeed, arrive, bringing the vast boons
which modern medicine, scientific advancement, and greater social
conscience promised. However, it wasn't all as anticipated and delivered
problems related to standards of social behaviour which, in the wat years
would not have been tolerated. Now of mature age, the participants in
those parties of 1945 might be forgiven for looking to the future and
wondering whether those living in 2045 will be likewise interested in
celebrating the centenary of an event that prefaced the enormous changes
which occurred during the years following VE Day, May 8 1 1945. · ·
REUNION NEWS
The grandly-named, Uni varsity Plaza Holiday Inn Hotel, St. Louis St,, SPRING­FIELD,
MO, is the chosen rendezous for veterans of the 404th Fighter Group
Association to meet, over September 7-10, 1995.
Members of the 557th Bomb Squadron Association Inc.,of the 387th BG, will
hold a reunion at the Menger Hotel in San Antonio, TX, during the period
October 11 thru 14, 1995.
Previously only holding individual squadron reunions, the 387th BG looks as
though it could be moving towards amalagmation at last. Members of the.
558th and 559th Bomb Squadrons are holding a joint reunion for October 13-
17 in Williamsberg, VA and are inviting members of the other squadrons to
attend. It is hoped that 1997· will see the holding of an ALL SQUADRON
reunion and the creation of the 387th Bomb Group Association will become a
reality ... 'bout time say we!!
10-13 August 1995 is the date for the 32nd reunion of the 367th Fighter
Group Association Inc. The venue will be the Radisson Hotel, Fargo, ND.
2
BOTNA BULLETIN is published four times yearly to coincide with the
association's meetings which are scheduled to be held in the Staff Social
Club at Stansted Airport, Essex. ,Membership of BOTNA is open to all those
with a genuine interest in the Ninth Air Force of WW2. American members
receive BOTNA BULLETIN by surface ~il. The annual subscription is $15,
which should be sent to the Treasurer Olive Mynn, The Dell, Kiln Hill,
IXWORTH, Suffolk, IP31 2HW. Bills are best as the cost of converting
dollar cheques is disproportionally high. The cost of U. K membership is
currently £7 Association, Inc.)
THE SAGA OF THE WORRY WART by Ed Young, 557th BS, 387th BG.
To tell you about aircraft #131672 "Worry Wart", I have to go back to
Godman Field, Kentucky. I was flying with a surplus crew. None of us was
assigned and not getting the kind of training we needed. We flew wing on
one of those "Flour Bag" missions to hit an Army airfield. I happened to
see the field out of the corner of my eye and peeled off and we really
socked it to that field all by ourselves. When we got back to Godman and
were discussing the mission with Col. Storrie, he asked who left the
formation and made a bomb run alone. Had to admit it was me, so got a
well-deserved dressing down. He told me we were leaving for- Selfridge
Field to pick up our combat aircraft and, at the moment, there was no place
for me. I don't know how our orphan crew got to Selfridge, but I think we
hitched a ride. When we got there I was told there was' nt an aircraft for
me. I asked if I could find a 8-26 and get it fitted out, could we go with
the rest of the Squadron? I was told yes, because no one thought it could
be done. We got busy and found a B-26 that was being cannibalized way
over in the corner of the field. Many instruments were missing, batteries
gone, even several cylinders missing from the engines. I'll never know how
that crew did it, but things began to happen. We begged, stole, and made
several "midnight requisitioning" trips, and that B-26 began to take shape.
We couldn't come up with a suitable name, so we decided on "Worry Wart",
there was a comic strip at the time using that name for the little kid1 who
was always in and out of trouble and that was the feeling we had for our B-
26. We finished our work on it the night before the outfit left for Hunter
5
Field, GA, for modifications. I'm sure most of the fellows will remember
that trip. I was flying close formation on the wing of Capt. Scott and
did' nt see what we were getting into but we ran into a real thunderstorm.
The outfit was scattered all over that part of the U.S. I don't know how
that ship held together, as we were going up and down about as fast as we
were flying. When we came out underneath the storm, we were flying in a
valley somewhere in Kentucky, and I had to go up into that mess again. I
made the choice to try to find our destination and we flew time and
direction, trying to find some field. We were running very short on fuel
when I happened to see a runway. We didn't have gas enough to make a
proper approach, so down came the wheels and flaps and we landed, It was
raining cats and dogs and when I applied the brakes nothing happened. I
pulled the air bottle to lock the brakes and we slid down the r·unway, off
the end, through fl fence, jumped a small ditch, and stopped next to a big
highway with the wheels mired in the mud. I thought that "Worry Wart" was
ruined but they pulled her out, cleaned her, put her in a hanger, and not a
thing was damaged.
All this took time and the Squadron took off for Presque Isle, ME, and we
were left all alone. As soon as the ship was released for service, we took
off to try to catch up with the rest of the Squadron and just about the
time we were entering Virginia, we h:l. t a buzzard and he wound up in the
cockpit with u~ It was rather windy so we landed at Norfolk to get a n~w
windshield, About this time I got the feeling that we had named this ship
just right.. It took three days and three women mechanics to instal one
windshield, and when we finally got into the air again, we flew to Presque
Isle, but the Squadron had gone on.
We flew to Goose Bay and still didn't catch up with the Squadron, they were
always just ahead of us. We were told that if we wanted to go overseas-we
would have to fly from there to Greenland alone. We decided to take a
chance, so they gave us a real good briefing. The weather on the way to
Greenland was terrible. Halfway there our radio went out, so we depended
on our navigator to get us there. He was perfect and hit our fjord right
on the button. Not having radio contact, we had to fly right in. We had
been told that you made a fast left turn and the runway would be right
there and you had to land. This runway was uphill with a mountain at the
end, so you were committed. I made my landing turn and there in the middle
of the runway was an aircraft that had crashed. Red lights were flashing
all over the place, so I gave "Worry Wart" all she had and she pulled us
out of there like the good girl she was, We flew around for a while to
give them time to clear the runway, and made our landing. The Squadron was
still there, waiting for good weather to fly on to Iceland.
Our boys found a radio and got it installed in time for the flight out, but
on the way to Iceland it went out on us, but by flying formation, we didn't
have any problems. In Iceland, the radio was repaired and we all took off
for Scotland, When we landed, we had one tyre almost flat, but we were on
the ground long enough to get it repaired.
After we arrived at Station 162 in England, "Worry Wart" got down to
business and performed wonderfully. I know that the Squadron maintenance
people had a lot to do with that.
6
Sadly enough, shortly after I rotated back to the States, "Worry Wart" came
back from a mission all shot up, ran off the end of the runway and was
salvaged. She was cannibalized and ended up just as she began. The ship
had flown 113 missions before the crash landing of 10 December 1944.
UPDATE ON WIDEWING
Member Richard Harries has provided some new facts related to his articles
in recent issues of BOTNA BULLETIN.
It has now been fully established that the information about Chestnut
Avenue in Bushy Park being used as a runway by the 8USAAF/USSAFE/SHAEF is
totally erroneous. The facts are that the Avenue was open to civilian
traffic throughout the war. Adjacent timber poles were erected at
intervals along it's sides, with trip-wire attached between them as an
anti-invasion measure in 1940. The only airstrip in Widewing was the small
one constructed for light aircraft of the ! 12th Liaison Squadron, Ninth
AF, situated parallel with the Hampton Court/Hampton Wick/Kingston Bridge
round-a-bout road.
There is also some doubt about Upper Lodge/" KCS" being used by SHAEF for
the study of the effects of chemical warfare. My two main informants on
this subject have, unfortunately, died. However, notices were definately
erected around the 11 KCS11 complex, warning local inhabitants not to venture
too near because of the dangerous scientific work being undertaken there.
Whether experiments were really taking place or it was just a method for
SHAEF to increase security, is still a very debatable point. My own
opinion now is that it was just a security 'ruse' by SHAEF, although there
are many local inhabitants who still maintain it was used for secret
experiments.
LISTEN. THAT' S US by Mike Ingrisano. 316th TCG.
We had picked up wounded after D-Day from Normandy and transported them to
a base on the east coast, I can't remember where. The C-4-7 was rigged so
we could lash belts from the top of the fuselage to the floor. These belts
had three slots in them to acccommodate the handles of stretchers. As I
recall we could get three high, and perhaps three or four deep on each side
of the aircraft, We made our delivery, could it have been Gravesend? was my co­pilot
that morning, we were flight leaders, and at one time I went back and
looked out of the bomb bay at the activity on the water. I saw this big
battle-wagon shelling the beach, all nine guns going at one time. I could
see the fire and smoke from the barrels and how the whole ship would slide
sideways in the water from the recoil, with white water swirling around on
9
one side. I found out later that it was the battleship Texas. Being from
Texas that was important information for met
We did not fully realise the historical significance of all we saw and did
at that time. The passing years have increased our awareness of the
importance of what we were asked to do and made us proud to have
participated.
WELL. HE KNEW WHAT HE MEANT! by Norman Hoxie, 555th BS. 386th BG.
Our crew was fully aware of the many crashes of the B-26 Marauder when we
started training in that bomber at Avon Park in 1943. The fact that many
of our flights would be in early short-winged models, added to our anxiety.
We had made only a few flights when an emergency bail out procedure arrived
from Wing Headquarters with the following instructions: "The pilot will
ring the bail-out bell and then repeat the word "jump" three times over the
interco~" As we prepared for the next flight, the tail gunner asked our
pilot, Russ Bowling, if he would use that procedure, and the pilot replied,
"Certainly I will, but you'd better go on the first "jump" if you want to
hear the other two." we wished to keep the forces ·in the Calais area from entering the
Normandy area.
For each attack made in the Normandy area .
AUTOMATIC CONTROL PANEL. The autopilot control panel , located in the
pilot's compartment of an airplane, contains the switches, lights, and
knobs used to operate and adjust the autopilot.
Tell-tale lights show when the electrical trim of the autopilot agrees with
the manual trim of the airplane.
Centering knobs change the elecrical trim of the autopilot to agree with
the manual trim of the airplane.
Sensitivity ·knobs regulate the distance the airplane is allowed to deviate
from straight and level flight before the servo units apply control to
correct the deviation.
Ratio knobs regulate the amount the servo units move the control surfaces
for any given deviation of the airplane.
Turn compensation knobs regulate the amount of control necessary when the
directional panel is used in making a coordinated turn.
Turn control enables the pilot to make coordinated turns with the autopilot.
(Reproduced from BIF [Bombardiers Information File, AAF 24BJ courtesy of
Bombardiers Inc, DAPHNE, AL),